A woman and two girls believed to be in their teens have been found dead inside a home in an upscale gated community in Texas. The bodies of all three victims were found by the woman's boyfriend at the home on the morning of January 10 in the Anaqua Springs Ranch in Boerne, northwest of San Antonio.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar told reporters at a press conference the two girls appear to have been killed, although it is too early to speculate if the third victim, identified as 37-year-old Nichol Leila Olsen by the San Antonio Express-News, died as a result of homicide or suicide. All three had died from gunshot wounds.
"We're hoping as this investigation unfolds it will be able to shed more light on not only what was going on last night, but also what may have happened this morning," Salazar said. He added that all three victims were related to each other but did not confirm how.
The boyfriend who discovered the bodies lived at the address, but reportedly did not sleep there that night. Salazar said determining his whereabouts will form part of the investigation, adding at this stage it is "too early to tell who's a suspect and who's a witness."
Salazar said police did not receive any reports of gunshots, although this may have been because of the size of the estate inside the luxury community.
"They're multimillion-dollar homes, very big lots and the homes are probably very well constructed," Salazar said. "So it's quite possible nobody heard anything.
"This is not a common area for us to see this sort of activity, but it just goes to show that crime really knows no boundaries, geographic, socio-economic or otherwise, it can happen anywhere."
According to reports, Olsen had a state license to work as a cosmetologist and worked as a hairstylist.
Cathy Muñiz, a former client of Olsen, said she can't believe that she would be responsible for the shootings. "She was just a very good person," she told the San Antonio Express-News.
"It's just too much of a shock. I don't even know what to think. It doesn't even make any sense. She was always so positive. I just can't see that she would do that to herself or her children because they were everything to her," Muñiz said.
If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours every day. If someone you know appears to be contemplating suicide, visit Bethe1To.com for assistance.
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